5 Best Australian Stock Brokers List for 2023
By Stefano Treviso, Updated on: Sep 29 2023.
Here’s our selection of the 5 Best Australian Stock brokers for the year 2023:
| Broker | Reason |
|---|---|
| FP Markets | Best for IRESS traders looking for ASX shares |
| IG | Best for high volume share CFD traders |
| Capital.com | Best multi-platform choice with no commissions |
| eToro | Best for social and copy trading |
| Interactive Brokers | Most trustworthy with the widest variety of assets |
All the above brokers are required to possess a financial license from ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission). This grants Australian stock traders a great layer of protection in the event of any dispute as complaints can be dealt with locally.
Each one of these brokers was analysed using our proprietary methodology.
1. FP Markets - Best for IRESS traders looking for ASX shares
FP Markets is a leading Australian broker with a 10,000+ asset offering accompanied by a great variety of tech options such as deploying your own VPS and accessing ENC / DMA pricing.
| Key data | |
|---|---|
| Stocks (Real and CFDs) | 10000 |
| Commissions |
|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 |
| Financial Regulators | ASIC, CySec, FSA. |
| MT4 | Yes |
| MT5 | Yes |
| cTrader | No |
| TradingView | No |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes |
FP Markets regulatory framework consists of 3 licenses from which only 1 of them is a high tier one (ASIC). They have been operating since 2005 and are headquartered in Australia. For Australian stock traders, FP Markets crafted a very competitive offer by partnering with IRESS trading platform.
| The Good | The Bad |
|---|---|
|
|
FP Markets’ platform variety is definitely lacking colour as they don’t have a proprietary platform or much interesting features, but when it comes to great commissions for high volume traders and DMA access to ASX shares, their IRESS offer is amongst the most competitive in the world.
2. IG - Best for high volume share CFD traders
IG is a global broker established in 1974 that holds 8 reputable financial licenses and provides CFD trading on stocks, commodities, ETFs, indices, cryptocurrencies, bonds, futures, options along with real stocks through their share dealing account.
| Key data | |
|---|---|
| Stocks (Real and CFDs) | 30000 |
| Commissions | Yes, they charge depending on the client’s account base currency and exchange location of the shares being traded. For example, for some clients US shares can have a minimum charge of $10 in-and-out. |
| Minimum Deposit | From $10 to $450. |
| Financial Regulators | ASIC, FMA, NFA, ADGM, FINMA, MAS, FFAJ, FSCA, BMA. |
| MT4 | Yes |
| MT5 | No |
| cTrader | No |
| TradingView | No |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes |
IG is amongst the most trusted brokers in the world. Their regulatory framework consists of 8 financial licenses from which 7 belong to high tier regulators (ASIC, FCA, NFA, ADGM, FINMA, MAS, FFAJ). IG is also a publicly traded company in LSX and has been operating since 1974, making them one of the oldest CFD brokers around the block.
| The Good | The Bad |
|---|---|
|
|
IG’s offers is definitely a great one as an overall choice. They provide access to more than 10,000+ instruments by default with the ability to add additional markets via data subscriptions. For high volume professional traders, their commission structure can make sense and be cost-effective. On the other hand, for beginners or intermediate traders, it may be a bit too much.
3. Capital.com - Best multi-platform choice with no commissions
Capital.com is a global broker founded in 2016 that specialises in CFDs trading with an offering of more than 4,000 different assets along with several trading platforms (TradingView, MT4, MT5 and their own).
| Key data | |
|---|---|
| Stocks (Real and CFDs) | 4800 |
| Commissions | None |
| Minimum Deposit | $20 |
| Financial Regulators | CySec, FCA, ASIC, NBRB. |
| MT4 | Yes |
| MT5 | No |
| cTrader | No |
| TradingView | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes |
Capital.com’s regulatory framework consists of 4 financial licenses and 2 of them belong to high tier regulators (FCA and ASIC). Their specialty was crafting a simple, friendly and easy-to-use proprietary trading platform with a no commissions offering.
| The Good | The Bad |
|---|---|
|
|
Capital.com serves as a great overall choice for beginner to intermediate stock traders as they also provide Metatrader and TradingView integrations. On the other hand, when it comes to more advanced features such as trailing-stops or access to specific markets, Capital.com’s offer can fall short of professionals’ expectations.
4. eToro - Best for social and copy trading
AFSL 491139. Capital at risk. See PDS and TMD.
eToro is an international broker specialised in social and copy trading that offers real stocks and cryptocurrencies along with CFDs on several asset classes.
| Key data | |
|---|---|
| Stocks (Real and CFDs) | 4000 |
| Commissions | No commissions on real stocks and ETFs |
| Minimum Deposit | From $50 to $200 |
| Financial Regulators | CySec, FCA, ASIC, FSAS. |
| MT4 | No |
| MT5 | No |
| cTrader | No |
| TradingView | No |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes |
eToro's regulatory framework consists of 4 financial licenses from which 2 are from high tier regulators (FCA and ASIC). They have positioned themselves as the leaders of the easy-to-invest apps generation by being the pioneers of copy trading on a mass scale through their proprietary multi-lingual platform.
| The Good | The Bad |
|---|---|
|
|
eToro's specialty is social and copy trading, specifically on shares and cryptocurrencies. Their main users are people wanting to invest without having to go through the effort of learning how to trade themselves. If you’re interested in accessing a wide variety (2,000+) of shares and cryptocurrencies without trading yourself but rather by following other skilled traders, eToro can be a great choice for you. On the other hand, if your main goal is to trade yourself, then there are better brokerage choices out there for you.
eToro AUS Capital Ltd ACN 612 791 803 AFSL 491139. OTC Derivatives are speculative and leveraged. Not suitable for all investors. Capital at risk. See PDS and TMD.
eToro AUS Capital Limited ACN 612 791 803 AFSL 491139. Social trading. eToro does not approve or endorse any of the trading accounts customers may choose to copy or follow. Assets held in your name. Capital at risk. See PDS and TMD.
5. Interactive Brokers - Most trustworthy with the widest variety of assets
Interactive Brokers is a global brokerage founded in 1978 that holds 11+ high tier financial licenses and provides discounted electronic trading services in nearly all the globe with access to more than 100,000+ financial instruments.
| Key data | |
|---|---|
| Stocks (Real and CFDs) | 100000 |
| Commissions | Commissions depend on market and residency:
|
| Minimum Deposit | 0 |
| Financial Regulators | SEC, FINRA, FCA, ASIC, IIROC, MNB, BSE, CBI, FSA, CSSF, MAS. |
| MT4 | No |
| MT5 | No |
| cTrader | No |
| TradingView | No |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes |
Interactive Brokers is considered a legend amongst brokerage firms. Their regulatory framework is made of 11 high tier financial licenses (SEC, FINRA, FCA, ASIC, IIROC, MNB, BSE, CBI, FSA, CSSF, MAS) and they have been operating since 1978 providing electronic trading services as a mass discount broker.
| The Good | The Bad |
|---|---|
|
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Interactive Brokers is the default go-to choice for professional traders, especially due to their 100,000+ assets offered along their professional trading platform “Trader Workstation”. If you’re an expert level trader looking for high volume options, discounted trading and the ultimate features then Interactive Brokers is the ultimate choice. On the other hand, if you’re a beginner to intermediate trader, using Interactive Brokers can turn out to be an overwhelming choice full of complexity.
A very important thing to note about Interactive Brokers is that their payment methods are extremely limited, their main deposit and withdrawal channel is bank transfers.